In this report from Ohio State that states that “…Asian American youth who attended church at least once a week reported 20 to 27 percent more symptoms of depression than their white and African American peers who attended the same level.”

I suspect this harkens to the Helen Lee’s “Silent Exodus” and the rigidity of the ethnic church and the conflict of mainstream American culture on that. I also have a strange suspicion could be the conflict of faith with the doubled facets of generational gap and culture. But also the leadership that could minister to youth has been lacking.

One of the few studies to look at the effects of religious participation on the mental health of minorities suggests that for some of them, religion may actually be contributing to adolescent depression. Previous research has shown that teens who are active in religious services are depressed less often because it provides these adolescents with social support and a sense of belonging.

Pastoral and Laity Ministries and Chinese Christian Herald Crusades Herald Youth Centerare proud to present a Speakers Series called ENGAGE ((English-speaking Asian American Group Exchange): This Asian American Ministry Speaker Series will launch it first season in Spring 2007. This monthly series hopes to build, equip, assist and rebuild lay leaders who serve Asian American churches. The first series will focus on Asian American Youth Ministry and the implications for leadership and developing discipleship. We hope that you join us as we fellowship and hear from some of ministry practitioners.

We will have presenter Brian Hall, Area Director of Asian Younglife.

Incarnational Ministry for Asian Youth

Brian is the founder and area director of Asian Young Life in northern New Jersey, a Christian organization committed to making a difference in the lives of Asian American teenagers, especially the unchurched (see http://asian.younglife.org). He is also a high school social studies teacher at the Academies @ Englewood in Englewood, NJ, where he teaches World Studies, Sociology, and Chinese and advises the school’s Ultimate Frisbee Club and the East Asian Club/LiNK. Brian holds a Ph.D. degree in sociology from Rutgers University, where for his dissertation he studied the growth of Christianity among Chinese American college students. During the 2002-03 school year he was a Fulbright Junior Scholar in Taiwan, where he studied Chinese languageat National Taiwan University in Taipei. He has written several published articles, including a chapter in the book Asian AmericanYouth Ministry, published by the L2 Foundation. In his spare time, Brian enjoys mountain biking and watching the TV show 24.

There are municipal parking lots available and street parking. It is easily accessible by the 7 train to Main Street and car. If there are any questions please feel free to call Peter Ong at 917-359-2021 or Ellen Hwang at 212-334-2033 x1603. All participants will receive a free copy of L2 Foundation’s Asian American Youth Ministry, edited by DJ Chuang. For each Speaking Series, dinner will be provided.

an interesting article that my friend Ashley pointed out…there are some perpetual stereotypes here…but is it?

by Winnie Hu

WHEN Cresskill School District officials proposed a $31.1 million renovation of their three public schools in 2004, they worried that residents in this affluent borough of 7,700 in Bergen County would not go along. The last school project was rejected twice before narrowly passing in 1998. And that was for only $3.9 million.

While the Cresskill schools clearly needed fixing up — boiler repairs at the high school alone were costing $25,000 a year — many parents told school officials that it was simply too much to spend, said Charles V. Khoury, the superintendent, who met with nearly a dozen parent and community groups. (more…)

* United Health Foundation and PacifiCare Foundation fund Asian-American Scholars Program offering two $5,000 Gold Scholarships and one $10,000 Platinum Scholarship CYPRESS, Calif., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Three scholarships totaling $20,000 are available to bilingual and bicultural Chinese- and Korean-speaking students who are pursuing careers in the health care industry. (more…)

Silent Exodus – Can the East Asian church in America reverse flight of its next generation?

PRESSURE POINTS

On top of the intense attention paid to native language, ethnic discrimination, and immigrant needs, Asian-American Christians grapple with additional pressure points concerning the demands for leadership equality, the role of ethnic identity in the church, and the importance of spiritual development. Unless theses added difficulties are solved, they have the potential to hinder church growth among younger people.

These younger people, often influenced by Western ideals of democracy and equality, tend to differ with Asian cultural views on hierarchy and authority. In the Asian culture, you have a slow giving over of authority and control to the younger generation, says Robert Goette, director of the Chicagoland Asian-American Church Planting Project. “Often the control resides with the parents until they die.”
Scholar Tseng agrees: “Unless the first-generation leaders are able to give second-generation pastors the freedom to lead, their young people will not go to these churches. First-generation pastors need to be aware of this dynamic.” (more…)

“It is not won by promotion, but by many prayers and tears. It is attained by confession of sin, and much heart searching and humbling before God; by self-surrender, a courageous sacrifice of every idol, a bold uncomplaining embrace of the cross, and by an eternal, unfaltering looking unto Jesus crucified. It is not gained to us as loss for Christ. This is a great price, but it must be paid by the leader who would not be merely a nominal but a real spiritual leader whose power is recognized and felt in heaven, on earth and in hell. ” -a quote about the road to spiritual authority and leadership by Samuel Brengle, Salvation Army.

Dear Friends and Family,

I can’t believe that the summer is almost over! Jamie and I are back in Syracuse prepared for a new season of our marriage this fall. It is good to be back on the blog world and I hope to capture what has happened in the past 10 days. I had the opportunity to go to a special wedding in Massachusetts on the eve of our first year wedding anniversary. Then headed to Rhode Island where we met with my parents for some time of leisure and good food. Then we headed to the city for several meetings with friends, ministry partners and potential funders for the Asian American Laity Project. Then we had a special gathering of friends for my birthday and then sharing at Chinese Conservative Baptist Church.

It was my first extended trip in New York City for a time and it was a time of a re-emergence of my heart towards ministry. I met with the President of Grace Christian Fellowship at Cornell (where I will serve as volunteer staff this year!) and we talked about our common vision for the campus. I was able to conduct a special training for the Herald Gospel Camp counselors on how to minister to campers. I met up with immigrant youth whom I served and now are halfway through graduating college and making decisions for their futures. It amazes me to know that 7 years ago when I met them, they were barely speaking English and knew little about Christ and now they are preparing to engineers, math teachers, and now serving the church as bible study leaders…Praise God.

As I wrapped up my time there, I felt a deep love and heaviness for the city and an eagerness to return to serving this place, this distant home of mine. But thanks to words from friends (special thanks to Jenny and Caroline) for your encouragement in this time of waiting. In some ways, it has been a time of sabbatical for me and it has deepened my faith and my passions. I am yearning for a sense of something familiar here in Syracuse…

Jamie and are looking for a new church and had a great time visiting Eastern Hills Bible Church and we are looking to visit International Assembly and the Korean Church of Syracuse. Our ideal match would be a place for us to learn and to serve together, especially in areas of community and international students. We had a wonderful dinner with a family serving through Young Life in Syracuse and it was a great exchange of vision and common leaders whom we admire. Please pray for Jamie and I during this important time for us to worship and build community. We are thankful for our time at Syracuse Alliance Church for the past year and continue with the relationships that God has begun.

Funding for Asian American Laity Project
The Asian American Laity Project needs an additional $11,000 to raise for the project. I had some productive meetings with some supporters and potential partners for this ministry. Pray that God’s provision would be given to this special project that I have a passion to serve those who faithfully serve in the Asian American churches. I am developing a stronger peace about this and I know that God will provide in his timing.

Volunteer staff for Intervarsity Grace Christian Fellowship at Cornell
I have offered to serve with Intervarsity this year with Grace Christian Fellowship at Cornell. I am excited to serve the college students at Cornell and to connect with what God is doing there. Pray for my involvement to equip the leadership there and to serve the fellowship in a way that will bring the campus to a deeper knowledge of Christ.

Serving with Chinese Christian Herald Crusades
During my time in New York, I was blessed by spending some time with current staff at CCHC and learning about the new and exciting things that God is doing there. I spoke to the Director and we are arranging for me to somehow be involved with supporting their new direction and vision for preaching the gospel to Chinese community. I am not sure if this will be suitable but want to be open…Pray for wisdom and for a balance of ministries that I am involved in.

Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Church
I am tentatively working with the leadership at the Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Church to develop their youth and young adult ministries. I will be preaching there once a month for their special concurrent services there. I really love the ministry of this church as they are striving to serve the second generation Chinese church. Many of the youth who go there are from Hofstra New York Summer Conference where I spoke this summer. I will be speaking at the end of September and spending time with leadership and develop a strategy for growth. Pray for the my time there and for mutual sharing and blessing as we seek to serve the church together.

OneHouse NYC
I had a chance to meet up with the organizers of the One House event. We had a Thursday prayer meeting and there were poignant moments of discovery for us regarding where we stood on these issues and also for each other. There were tears and many earnest pleas for God’s provision in this matter. The event will be in NYC on October 21st, it is a unity concert focusing on social justice. I am excited to announce that Neah Lee will be performing and sharing that night. I am preparing my talk and excited to delving into the writings of Cornel West, Ron Sider and Martin Luther King. Pray for my talk to be filled with an overarching theme of God’s mercy and his desire for Justice….

MISC
Please pray for a youth pastor how has been diagnosed with Lymphoma and that it seems treatable but continue to lift him and his family up as they go through this difficult time.

Special praise to God for Kara, Esther for lunch (sushi!!), Jinny and Koo (rain down on them in Washington!), EUG-ene for catching up and learning about fatherhood, John for meeting with me and sharing some thoughts on the Asian American church, thanks for all the youth who came out to hang out and have some herb-orade, for all the people who came out to my birthday party, for the OneHouse folks for a meaningful time of fellowship and prayer, Simeon for sharing your vision for campus, and a special thanks to all of you who sent me words of encouragement and whose support means so much to me…God sees and will provide.

On a recent sunny afternoon at Stuyvesant High School, the track team warmed up in the lobby. On the sixth floor, the school newspaper staff assembled to listen to a speaker. Outside, a cluster of students gathered to pray.

The students were members of Seekers, the elite school's Christian club. Like Joshua marching around Jericho before the walls came tumbling down, they were walking around their building and praying in preparation for an event called Jesus Day.

"Our main goal for Jesus Day is evangelism," said David Seok, 18, a senior and a co-president of Seekers. "We try to reach out to our school and our friends who don't believe."

About 30 public high schools in New York City have Seekers clubs like Stuyvesant's. Loosely affiliated with the Urban Youth Alliance, an evangelical Christian organization based in the Bronx, the Seekers clubs, which date to at least the 1980's, comprise the largest and most established network of Christian student groups in New York City public schools. For most of them, Jesus Day — actually a series of outreach-oriented rallies that were held on different days last week in schools across the city — is their capstone event of the year.

"It's a day to tell everyone what we're about," said Regina Chan, 17, a senior and the other co-president of Stuyvesant's Seekers club. (more…)